CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KXAN) — USA Today has nominated the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi for the “Best Aquarium of 2024” award, and voting is open until mid-May.
KXAN meteorologist Nick Bunnin spoke with Texas State Aquarium CEO Jesse Gilbert about the aquarium’s nomination and its importance to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bunnin: Jesse, you have been nominated for Best Aquarium of 2024 by USA Today. Can you tell us about that nomination?
“The Texas State Aquarium is proud to be a part of the Texas State Aquarium,” said Jesse Gilbert, CEO of the Texas State Aquarium. of course. So we were honored to be nominated by the Great Aquariums, a group of aquariums across North America. However, we are a little biased. We are the largest aquarium in Texas and the official aquarium of the state of Texas. Therefore, it is a great honor to be nominated. And we encourage Texans to vote for the Texas State Aquarium. You can vote every day from now until May 13th. And really see what puts Texas on the map in terms of aquariums.
Banin: We also do a lot of animal and marine life rehabilitation in the Gulf of Mexico, right? Could you tell me about that?
Gilbert: that’s right. So the most important thing we’re doing in terms of wildlife resilience is wildlife rescue and rehabilitation programs. This is the United States’ major coastal wildlife rescue program. And it’s right here in Corpus Christi. So it’s an asset not only to the Coastal Bend and Corpus Christi area, but actually to the state of Texas. Our company has the largest marine animal housing capacity in the United States, and in the event of a disaster, he can house more than 4,000 to 5,000 sea turtles at one time. We just opened a new wildlife rescue center, which is currently the largest center in the United States. Equipped with cutting edge technology. And it all adds up to making these people resilient so that Texans can enjoy them for generations to come.
This is an exciting program that has probably reintroduced almost 4,000 animals over the last 10 to 15 years. This keeps him busy, especially during the colder months, and the aquarium houses more than 1,200 sea turtles at a time. So it’s a very active program.
Banin: Jesse, for those of you who live here in Central Texas and want to go to an aquarium and not just buy admission, right?
Gilbert: right. That means you’re buying tickets to the largest aquarium in Texas. You can have fun all day long, but you’re also funding the state’s largest wildlife conservation program, so you’re partnering with the Texas State Aquarium to save this wildlife. So you’re getting a 2-for-1 deal on that.
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